WESTERN CAROLI NA BOTANICAL CLUB LIBRARY ^ JAM 1 4 1998 fryni NEW YORK V^ NICAL garden N N IVERSARY JANUARY 16, 1998 THE EARLY DAYS The 1998 Annual Meeting of the Western Carolina Botanical •Club provides an opportunity to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of that remarkably unique organization. The inspiration for its formation can be traced to a series of wildflower classes taught in Brevard during the fall of 1972 by Dr. C. Ritchie Bell, then Professor of Botany at UNC-Chapel Hill and Director of the N. C. Botanical Gardens. The enthusiasm generated by this experience prompted one participant, Harry Logan, to suggest "I think it would be nice for some of us who've gotten to know each other in these classes to get together regularly and go out to various interesting places to look at flowers and other plants"--and another, Barbara Hallowell, to agree wholeheartedly. (Two decades later, this simple, direct statement of the Club's essential purposes still serves it very well)! Harry aired the proposal at a meeting on March 12, 1973, which was attended by Joe Schatz, Harvey Krouse, Lincoln Highton, Harriet Corwin, Pat and Gordon Tooley, Peggy Camenzind, Nan Morrow, and possibly others. This led to an organizational meeting on March 27 at which the following officers were elected: Lincoln Highton Gordon Tooley Barbara Hallowell President Vice President Secretary-Treasurer The aims of the Club were articulated as follows: For the study, enjoyment and appreciation of the plants of Western North Carolina in th$ir natural environment. For the collection and compilation of information and data on the plants of Western North Carolina and the dissemination of this to other interested persons. For the education of interested persons in the enjoyment and appreciation of wildflowers and other plants. Other basic decisions made at this meeting-activities to consist mostly of field trips, indoor programs in bad weather, a single formal meeting each year, modest dues structures, etc.-remain unchanged today. Typically, Harry Logan did not wait for these formalities but scheduled a field trip on March 16, 1973 for this unnamed, unorganized group. The destination was Bat Cave, the weather was rainy, and the attendance was small (Logan, Highton and Hallowell), but the trip was so successful that a repeat the following week drew ten members. Another field trip on March 19 took a group to Auger Hole to see Shortia, under the guidance of Peggy Camenzind. > The first membership list, prepared in late 1973, contained 25 names, among them Peggy Camenzind, Barbara Hallowell, Bruce Leech, Harry Logan, Nan Morrow, Gladys Mulvey, and Pat Tooley. It was not until the 1979 Annual Meeting that it was decided to publish a newsletter, and March of that year saw the first issue of SHORTIA, with Harvey Krouse as Editor and Verna Krouse as Secretary and Literary Critic. SOME SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS 1980 Harvey Krouse reported on distant field trips to North Carolina's coastal bogs and barrier islands. 1981 "Look Again!" was created as a regular feature of the newsletter. Helen Turner listed more than 40 spring wildflowers observed in the 1600 sq. ft. plot at Carolina Village. 1982 A three-day trip to Callaway Gardens proved to be outstanding, due largely to the expertise of chief horticulturist Fred Galle and our own Augie Kehr. The Camenzinds and the Morrows treated the Club to a ramp- and-potato feast at Camp Straus. "SHORTLA” acquired a logo and a new look. Harry Logan led nine members on a trip to Linville Wilderness to see the federally endangered Hudsonia montana. 1982 Several members attended National Wildlife Federation Summit Conferences, with Barbara Hallowell doubling as instructor and participant at Black Mountain. 1983 Harry Logan, Miles Peelle and Dick Smith conducted nature walks at Snowbird Mountain Lodge-a tradition that was to be continued in subsequent years by the Hansens, the Hallowells, the Duprees, and Millie Blaha. The N. C. Forest Service presented the Club with a Service Award Certificate in recognition of its contribution of the slide program , " Spring Wildflowers of Holmes State Forest compiled by several members and narrated by Millie Blaha. Nan Morrow hosted our first, and highly successful , " Learn and Share" session. Under the direction of Ken Sinish, the Club developed the first of several educational exhibits for the main entrance of the Hend- ersonville County Public Library. 1984 An especially prolific overnight trip took us to the North Carolina Botanical Gardens at Chapel Hill and the Sarah P. Duke University Gardens in Durham. Pursuant to a proposal advanced by Elton Hansens, the Club contracted with the National Park Service to develop the trail between Mt. Pisgah Inn and the Buck Springs Lodge site into a self-guiding nature walk. The Club figured prominently in the American Rock Garden Society's 50th Anniversary celebration, with Sam Childs acting as coordinator. Twenty- two of our members served as guides; Dick Smith was the lead-off speaker at UNC-Asheville, and Elizabeth Greiner supervised the banquet decorations at Biltmore Estate's Deer Park. Construction of a wildflower trail on Millie Pearson's woodland property was completed during the summer by a group of 17 Club members. As a community service, a committee of Club members em- barked on an extensive project of inventorying the flora of selected areas in Holmes State Forest, to be completed in about two years. The Club completed the Buck Springs Nature Trail, together with an interpretive booklet keyed to 24 botanically significant locations along the path. Many members contributed to this ambitious undertaking and to the preparation of a complete inventory of trailside herbaceous plant species. After several years of frustration, Club scouts "rediscovered" Monkshood, Aconitum uncinatum, on Sugarloaf Mountain. Members Anne Ulinski and Millie Blaha received recognition for their efforts in having the Jackson Park Wetlands designated as a Natural Heritage Area by the State of North Carolina, and next turned their attention to Mud Creek in Patton Park. A group of 19 dendrologists from Belgium benefited from the expertise of Bill Verduin, Elizabeth Feil and Lowell Orbison during a visit to this area. Millie Blaha and Anne Ulinski began their study of the vascular flora of the Carl Sandburg National Historical Site. Under the terms of his will, the WCBC received a bequest from the estate of co-founder Harry Logan, who died in September. The Club made one last trip to Bat Cave before storm damage to the bridge forced the Nature Conservancy to put this extra- ordinary site off limits. A complete set of " SHORTLA " was deposited in the Library of the New York Botanical Garden. A new genus of African plants has been named Bobgunnia for WCBC member Bob Gunn. 1997 The Environmental and Conservation Organization of Henderson County bestowed its highest honor, the Founder's Award, upon Anne Ulinski. 1998 Dick Smith's new book, "Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains", was completed and is scheduled for publication by the University of Tennessee Press this spring. PRESIDENTS Joe Schatz (Acting) 1973 Lincoln Highton 1974,1975 Harvey Krouse 1976,1977,1978 Bruce Leech 1979, 1980 August Kehr 1981, 1982 Dick Smith 1983, 1984 Elton Hansens 1985, 1986 Millie Blaha 1987 Bill Verduin 1988, 1989, 1990 Bessie Sinish 1991,1992 Dorothy Rathmann 1993,1994 Don Herrman 1995 to date HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS Frank and Calla Bell Millie Blaha Louise Foresman Tom and Barbara Hallowell Elton and Aline Hansens Harvey and Verna Krouse John and Margaret Kuhn Harry Logan Millie Pearson Miles and Eleanor Peelle Dick and Jeanne Smith Helen Turner Anne Ulinski Bill and Evelyn Verduin EDITORS OF "SHORTIA" Harvey Krouse Helen Turner Dorothy Rathmann Millie Blaha Bud Pearson Elton and Aline Hansens ■